During the manufacture of glass plates, unfinished glass plates are placed on a conveyor and moved through grinders and drills that remove excess glass to create the final shape of the glass plate. In general, the glass plates are held in position on the conveyor by friction between the plate and the surface of the conveyor, a surface that often comprises a special material for this purpose, such as rubber. Frequently, however, presses are also used to apply force to the side of the glass plates opposite the side resting on the conveyor, to secure the glass plate against the conveyors during grinding and drilling. Commonly used presses comprise a plurality of rollers having circumferential rubber rings or rubber tracks. Disadvantageously, however, rollers with rubber rings or rubber tracks frequently damage the surface of the glass plates because glass dust and glass chips from the grinding and drilling operations come to rest between the rollers and surface of the glass plates and abrade the glass surface when pressed on by the rollers. Further, many glass plates comprise a surface coating, such as a “LOW-E” (“low emission”) coating, that can be damaged by the rollers.
Therefore, there is a need for a new conveyor for holding glass plates in position during grinding and drilling operations. Further, there is a need for a new method for holding glass plates in position during grinding and drilling operations.